Guided By Nation: Jay Carney Knows His Rock 'N' Roll

In a press conference yesterday, Obama spokesman Jay Carney mentioned that the president would be traveling to Dayton, Ohio, with British Prime Minister David Cameron to catch some NCAA tourney play-in action. (Not as kinky as it sounds.) Carney noted that Dayton was home to, among other things, the Wright brothers and lo-fi rockers Guided By Voices, which Carney praised as the "greatest rock 'n' roll band of the modern era."

Finally! Something true from a White House presser! 'Cause Carney's right about GBV.

And here's why:

 First, the greatest rock band should have no bullshit, and GBV has no bullshit. No bells, no whistles. No effects. Everything from their seminal catalogue starting with Propeller and continuing through Alien Lanes was recorded on a flimsy 4-track. Heck, half the time there's no songs! The tracks are over before they start, clocking in mostly under two minutes each, ending succinctly and inhabiting a place of "fuck it, we're over this" in the best possible way.

 Second, the greatest rock band should have a member named Mitch Mitchell (see: Experience, The Jimi Hendrix). Check.

 Third, the greatest rock band should form in a bar, they should drink with their fans, and they should all work day jobs, like teaching 4th grade public school kids. This is Ohio. Stardom is for pussies.

 Fourth, the greatest band in the world sounds like nothing and everything else at once. GBV eats itself with each note, growing and dissolving in a morass of angst and energy and ingenuity, never starting, stopping or ending, a mix of sounds and styles and influences spun like a prehistoric iPod from a generation before everything was illuminated, processed, packaged and made available for a buck a track from the Mothership of Hip.